On an application for leave to bring a second appeal under s 326A of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), where the fresh evidence is alibi testimony from a deceased fellow prisoner, the applicant bears the onus of positively satisfying the court that the evidence is reliable — it is not sufficient to show it is arguably reliable. The court will assess reliability by reference to the inherent probability of the account, the witness's criminal history (particularly dishonesty offences), verifiable factual claims within the evidence, the prison context, and the applicant's own credibility. The court need not find fabrication; it is sufficient that the applicant has failed to discharge the onus.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 5 later cases that cite this judgment.
4 of the 5 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.